Duality
by secretsillnevertell
Summary: Henry comforts Regina in a less...conventional way.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: No, this isn't a story about pedophilia so...don't tell me it is. Warning for a slightly incestuous look at Henry and Regina post the breaking of the second curse. Enjoy and review :)**

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"Mom?" Henry called, walking into his childhood home. He hadn't seen his mom since Robin decided she didn't exist to him at the diner that day. He couldn't see her; it was too difficult for him. During the time between getting to Storybrooke and getting his memories back, Henry had grown quite a large crush on the mayor and when he got his memories back he couldn't just turn that off. He wanted to punch Robin for being such a jerk to Regina.

"Henry?" he heard her calling from upstairs.

"Mom, I just wanted to stop by and check on you," Henry called, as he headed up the stairs. He found her sitting on the chaise lounge in her room, knees together and her forearms resting against her thighs. _She is so beautiful_, he thought.

Looking up at him as he sat down beside her, Regina tried to smile, though it was hard for her. She had figured he would have come to check on her, but he hadn't and it had been a week.

"I'm really sorry I didn't come sooner," he said, as if reading her mind. He then pushed his shoulder against hers, noticing with a heavy swallow that he must have shorter legs, because his shoulder was at the same height as hers.

"Why didn't you?" she asked quietly, then let out a breath of air in place of a cruel chuckle. "Not that you owe me anything, I know Emma is your mom."

"Don't think like that. It…it was just too hard to come around after Robin hurt you. I just want to make him hurt, too!"

"Sweetheart, I'm not worth your anger. Don't blame him...she's his true love. I can't even find it in myself to blame him."

"But...but look at you! You're amazing," Henry protested vehemently.

"Thanks Henry, that's very sweet of you, but I'm not. He was my last chance at love, but perhaps someday I'll be happy."

"He...he doesn't have to be," Henry whispered.

"There's no one else, Henry."

Turning toward her, he sat and waited for her to face him. When she did, he looked up into the chocolate eyes that had always shown him so much compassion; so much love and he couldn't stop himself. It was like her eyes put him in a trance and he was immediately leaning forward, awkwardly pressing his lips to her full, warm ones. They tasted salty from her tears, and it took her a moment but she pulled away.

"Henry, what are you doing?" she asked quietly, the silence filling with her sensual voice.

"I...I want to make you feel better."

"No, sweetheart. It's wrong," she told him, cupping his cheek tenderly—motherly.

"It's...it's just a kiss." His voice cracked when he spoke, a sign of his maturing. And perhaps she should have second guessed it, maybe even given it a third thought before allowing herself to continue, but when he pressed his inexperienced lips to hers again, she couldn't help but return the kiss, parting her lips slightly and gently running her tongue across his bottom lip as he moved his mouth against hers.

It didn't go any farther than that kiss, and Regina was relieved by that...mostly, anyway, that's what she was sticking with. Henry however, who had gone back to the Charmings that night, couldn't think about anything besides how soft her lips were and how exciting it had been. There was a war in his mind between seeing her as his mom and seeing her as the mayor, the woman who had welcomed him as just some new visitor in town. And as much as he loved having her as his mom...if considering her the mayor was what got him more moments like the one they had shared, that's what he wanted to do.

He went to Granny's with Emma the next day, and they ran into Regina. Henry stood beside his blonde mother as she awkwardly tried again to apologize to his brunette mom, but she fumbled it. Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms tightly around Regina, and since she wasn't wearing heels, he wasn't even that much shorter than her. She smelled so good and he breathed her in, knowing Emma would just think it was still because he missed her from the year they spent apart.

"I love you, mom," he said in parting,

"I love you too, Henry," she answered with a short nod.

"Can I come spend the night tonight? I really miss you." Regina was torn between her answers; one telling her she should put distance between them, the other missed him too much to say no.

"Of course, dear. It's your home, too." Henry grinned widely and nodded.

"Cool. I'll be home tonight for dinnertime then?" he asked, and Regina nodded, leaving the diner.

When Henry arrived for dinner, Regina already had the table set and ready. The pair sat down and ate their meal in near silence, only speaking occasionally to discuss random happenings in their lives. When dinner was over, Henry helped Regina in the kitchen with the dishes and watched as she made a pot of coffee for herself.

"Isn't coffee usually your morning drink?" he asked.

"Yes, but I have a headache and it helps make it go away."

"Can I have some?"

"No, dear. You're too young."

"But I'm growing up." Regina nearly groaned at the statement, thinking all too hard on the truth of it, the kissing…his _desire_ to even kiss someone, his voice changing, his height increasing…all of it was pointing to signs that he was indeed growing up. "Fine. One cup. And if you don't sleep tonight, I don't want to hear about it tomorrow."

"Cool!" he said excitedly, changing his tone and word quickly to seem more grown up. "I mean…ahem…sounds good. So…why do you have a headache?"

Sighing, Regina leaned her hip against the counter. "Henry, about what happened the other night..."

"Please don't tell me you regret it," he said, his changed tone going right back to that of her eager son, the one who argued with her whenever she told him he couldn't have something he wanted.

"Sweetheart, I'm your mother."

"Yeah...but people do it all the time. Especially in Europe. I'd move to Europe if it made it easier for you." She smiled at her son and his sweet disposition. Pulling him against her in an easy natured hug, Regina put one hand on the back of his head, gently stroking his hair, and the other arm was laying across his shoulders. Henry wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tighter when she moved to pull away, until she relaxed into the hug, tired of feeling so alone.

He dropped his hands to her lower back, right above her ass, causing her to stiffen, but he didn't move anymore, just had his palms flat against her back. He reveled in the feeling of her soft breasts against him, and he considered how girls his age don't look quite as amazing as she does.

"Henry," she said quietly, gently beginning to pull away. "We need to talk about this."

That was when he took the chance he had wanted to. As he pulled away, his slid his hands over the curve of her ass, watching as her eyes widened and she stiffened once more, standing straight and not moving at all. He took the opportunity of her stillness to lean in and press his lips against hers again, wanting so badly to feel their softness and taste her again.

Regina didn't respond, not at first. No, at first she remained still, figuring if she let him kiss her, he would get it out of his system and move on. But Henry slid his tongue out, pushing too much against her lips, it was obvious that he was still new to kissing, but she had to admit she found it a touch endearing. And she responded, opening her lips to let his tongue in, to let him press it against hers in an over-eager manner. And it took her several moments to pull away, shaking her head and walking away, straight to her bedroom, straight to hide.


	2. Chapter 2

**Same warnings as chapter 1.**

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Waking up in the morning in his old room reminded Henry of growing up. He knew he had taken Regina for granted, she had been a model mother until the year he started understanding about the curse, and he often felt guilty that it was his fault and not hers. He also knew that she would never let him believe that. Turning from his back to his stomach and rubbing his face into his pillow, he smelled the familiar scent of vanilla and laundry detergent; it was the smell that lingered throughout the house, and it was often the smell that covered her tan skin. He breathed in deeper, taking in the scent and his mind flickered to the memories of kissing her last night and touching her. He didn't have any other kisses to compare it to. And he didn't have any other girls he had touched to compare it to, either, but he knew that she was attractive to a lot of people. He saw Robin checking her out all the time, her ass especially. He'd even seen his grandpa checking her out sometimes when no one was looking.

Either way, he didn't care. He rolled out of bed and flipped on his computer. He _had_ to know how to touch her better, and how to kiss her better. He wanted her to see him as a man. Once his computer was on, he found a website with porn and watched a few videos. Between those and the thoughts of her body against his, he couldn't take it anymore and flicked his eyes to his door to make sure it was completely shut before he untied his pajama bottoms.

Regina woke up and heard only stillness in the house. She pulled her robe on over her silk pajama set and set to head to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Before she headed down the stairs, she turned to go back to Henry's room, wanting to know what he would like for breakfast. She didn't hear anything coming from his room, so she assumed he was sleeping and pushed the door open. Straight in her line of view, she saw Henry watching porn on his computer and at the sound of her gasp, he jerked, turning his upper body around but pushing both hands into his lap.

"Mom!" he shouted, embarrassed. It took Regina a minute, but she shook her head and backed out of his room, pulling the door shut and leaning against it when it was closed. She finally collected herself and pushed off the door, heading to the kitchen to start breakfast. She started a pot of coffee, then readied the bacon and mixed the batter for pancakes. She was sipping from her cup of black coffee when she heard bare feet slowly padding into the kitchen. She waited a moment to turn around.

"Henry. Good morning," she said, deciding it was best to not bring up what happened earlier.

"Uh… good morning," he replied, shuffling awkwardly to sit at the island.

"Are pancakes and bacon fine for breakfast, dear?"

"Uh, yeah, that sounds great. And… uh, some coffee?" Regina looked like she was going to protest, but Henry spoke again before she could. "I didn't get to try it last night."

"Very well." Turning to pour him a cup, Regina added milk and sugar to his, and slid it over the island to him.

"Why isn't it plain, like yours?"

"You won't like it black."

"Can I try?" Regina shook her head with a chuckle.

"Try yours first." Watching as Henry took a sip and attempted to cover up his disgusted face. With a knowing smile, Regina set her own black coffee down in front of him and watched as he lifted the cup to drink from it. Once the bitter liquid hit his tongue, he grimaced and forced himself to swallow it.

"That's disgusting," he said, handing her mug back to her.

"I told you that you wouldn't like it."

After breakfast, they watched a movie, Henry picking a mindless action movie and Regina made popcorn, handing Henry the bowl to hold. He was sitting to her right; the popcorn bowl in his lap as he occasionally took the fluffed kernels out, popping them into his mouth. Halfway through the movie, Henry lifted his left hand to pass the bowl of popcorn to his mother, not taking his eyes off the screen. The back of his hand brushed onto Regina's right breast and she froze, her entire body uncomfortable, but knowing it was an accident, she didn't say anything. Taking the bowl from him, Regina held it in front of her stomach, sitting stiffly as he withdrew his hand for a moment. Less than a minute later, he crossed his right hand over his body and cupped the same breast he has accidentally brushed moments before, causing Regina to jerk up, standing and dropping the bowl of popcorn, moving to leave the room.

Once she was in her bedroom, she began pacing the floor. Wondering what Henry was honestly thinking, she tried to convince herself that it was an accident, though she knew it wasn't. They still hadn't discussed what she had walked in on that morning. Checking her phone, she sent a text to Emma asking her what time she wanted Henry home. Regina had her phone pressed to her lips as she continued pacing the floor, waiting for it to beep. Finally, after nearly ten minutes, Emma responded that she figured Henry would want dinner with her again, so she'd be by to get him around 8. Groaning, Regina scolded herself. She should be happy that she was getting more time with her son, but after the time they'd had the past few days, she didn't know how to deal with him. With a heavy sigh, she left her room and headed back down to the living room.

Henry was sitting on the couch, not watching the movie, but playing on his video game instead. Regina noticed he had picked up the popcorn she had spilled, and she walked around the couch, sitting on the far end from him.

"Henry, we need to talk," she said, waiting for him to look up from his game. After a moment, he set his game down and looked at her.

"What's up, mom?"

"You… cannot kiss people just because you want to. And you absolutely cannot touch people inappropriately. Grabbing my backside, and my breast… Henry that was _not_ okay. You _cannot_ touch people, not even me. Just because I've been the primary female in your life does not mean you can figure things out using me as your example."

Henry looked properly admonished, looking down and dropping his head. "I'm sorry, mom."

"You can't just get off by apologizing, either. I need you to tell me that you understand."

"I do, mom. I'm sorry. I… you're so pretty and I can't make my feelings go away just because I remembered you're my mom."

"Let's… talk about that, then. We didn't really discuss it."

Blushing furiously, Henry looked away from her and shook his head. "Mom… I don't want to."

"But we need to, sweetheart."

"It's just that we hung out and you showed me around town and you were the pretty mayor and I couldn't think of any reason that you would have for spending time with me…"

"… Because you didn't know I'm your mother and you were a young man with a crush," Regina finished thoughtfully.

"Yeah," he answered, shrugging.

"But Henry, you know now."

"I know that! But… but it doesn't change that you're really pretty and… and I like looking at you. At… well, at all of you. Other guys do it."

"Well, then other guys need to learn to not be obvious around children."

"Mom! I'm not a child!"

Regina knew he would be sensitive about that, so she nodded, saying, "I know, dear. You are growing up, but you are still _my_ child, and you always will be."

"But…" Henry started, his cheeks flushing red once more. "I like kissing you. And, and you kissed me back!"

Regina felt a stab of guilt through her body and she nodded. "I know I did, sweetheart, but I shouldn't have."

"Was I that bad at it?"

"Oh sweetheart, I didn't mean it like that. I shouldn't have kissed you back because you are my son. It isn't… it's not okay. And I'm a lot older than you."

"I don't care! If I don't care, nobody else should!"

"I know you believe that, but that doesn't make it right. You'll find someone soon enough who is your own age, and you'll realize that it is much healthier."

"But I don't want to. And… and what if no one else likes me enough to love me. But you love me already, why can't that just be enough?"

"Sweetheart," she said, cupping his cheek in her hand. "You are far too incredible a person to not find someone equally wonderful. You're my handsome little prince. You will find your princess." She had meant the words to reassure him, but the smile that crossed his face was too eager and the way he hugged her was too tight, and she wondered if he had taken her words as something more than a mother seeing perfection in her son.

Henry didn't let go of the hug nearly as soon as he should have, not by his mom's standards, anyway. His head was too fuzzy from the feeling of her chest against his and the light scratches that her fingernails made on the back of his head. He buried his face in her neck and smelled her skin. She smelled really nice and he couldn't resist the urge to press a soft kiss to her neck. He knew that by the way her breath hitched, she wasn't going to be happy with him, so he broke the hug and decided to take advantage of the fact that she was already going to be mad at him anyway, and he pressed a quick kiss to her mouth before hurrying to leave for his bedroom before she could say anything.

Regina just watched him go, dropping her head into her hands after he was far enough away and sighing. "Henry, what am I going to do with you," she whispered to herself, her voice heavy.


	3. Chapter 3

**This one has a bit more than the last two, still no sex, so no pedophilia. Warning for incest, though.**

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When Henry came over again a handful of days later, Regina figured Henry would be over his crush. No, she hadn't figured, she had hoped, either way she was disappointed. His crush was in full bloom and seemingly amplified from his time away from her. Regina was cooking dinner when he came into the kitchen, dropping his backpack outside of the doorway.

"Hey mom," he said shyly as he entered.

Turning to smile at him, Regina answered, "Hello, dear. How was your stay at Emma's?"

Henry shrugged, saying, "It was okay, I guess. I'd rather stay with you."

"She's your mother too, dear. I've always been far too selfish with keeping you around as it is."

"But I had a whole year away from you."

"I know, sweetheart."

Henry looked at her in her work clothes. She was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt tucked into a dark gray pencil skirt. He waited until she turned back to the stove, noticing that he was now the same height as her when she wasn't wearing heels. Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and latched his hands together over her stomach. He then rested his cheek on her shoulder.

"Mom, you're so pretty," he whispered, his voice already muffled by her shirt.

She had stiffened when he wrapped himself around her, her backside against his pelvic area and his hold too tight to be appropriate. "Henry, you need to let go of me," she hissed, trying to shrug out of his hold. He finally listened and moved away from her, shifting uncomfortably, and when her eyes naturally dropped down, she realized being against her had given him an erection.

"Sorry mom," Henry said, a blush covering his cheeks.

Sighing, Regina nodded and took his face into her hands. "Darling, I understand, you're at that age, but you need to stop touching me like that, okay?"

"But I didn't!"

"Touching with your body is the same as touching with your hands, maybe worse. Hugs aren't bad until they are no longer innocent, sweetheart."

"I'm sorry," he repeated, lowering his head and looking at the floor. "I just liked kissing you so much, and… and it's all I think about. Feeling your lips on mine, it just… I have bad thoughts and I want to act on them but everyone says I'm too young! I'm not a little boy anymore, mom! It isn't fair!"

Regina nodded, she could understand his frustration, she had been there when she was young and when she first started discovering the changes her body was going through. She hadn't had a supportive parent to help her and she just wanted him to have what she never did. Pulling him close, Regina hugged him against her, scratching the back of his head softly. Maybe if she just let him… maybe if she kissed him and let him kiss her… maybe he would get over the need he felt, get it out of his system and they could go back to normal. She could be Mayor Mills for him for just a few more minutes, couldn't she?

Turning off the burners, Regina led Henry to her study, the darkest and most private room in her house, and she sat down on the couch, her body slightly turned toward him, where he sat down next to her.

"Henry, I'm going to let you kiss me, okay? You may kiss me however you want to for five minutes, but after that, you need to stop, okay? I understand that you are going through… changes and it's scary, but that's all I can help you with. You'll need to find a girl your age to kiss, okay?"

Henry looked at her excitedly, eagerly, and nodded rapidly. "Really?"

"Yes, but this stays between us and it won't happen again, do you understand?" Henry nodded and shifted to sit closer to her, awkwardly raising his hands to rest one on her shoulder by her neck and the other on her waist. He hesitantly moved his face toward her, watching her eyes before he dropped his gaze to her full lips that were covered in a pinkish lipstick. When he pressed his mouth to hers, he felt himself harden almost immediately, but ignored it.

Sliding his tongue out, he pushed into her mouth, tracing the insides of her lips until she reluctantly met his tongue with hers. He was so eager and pushy and Regina wondered if he would be pushy when he kissed inexperienced girls, or if it was just because he knew she'd been kissed many times before. After three minutes of kissing, Henry moved to his knees, not breaking the kiss. When he pushed against her body with his, Regina hesitantly leaned back against the arm of the couch so she was awkwardly leaning back but not all the way. Henry pressed his body against hers, climbing on top of her the best he could, and Regina had to hold back a moan as he pushed his crotch against her hip. She felt his hardness, but didn't say anything to him. When he knew that his five minutes was coming to a close, Henry slid one hand up to her breast, squeezing it through her shirt as his other hand slid down to her hip, his fingers curling around and pressing against her ass.

Regina didn't wait to stop it, not really. She let him touch her for only seconds before she pushed him away, breaking the kiss and his touch.

"Henry," she scolded.

"You… you were letting me kiss you, so I thought it would be okay," he answered sadly. "Are you mad at me?"

"No," she sighed, shaking her head. "I'm not mad at you, sweetheart. Now… go clean up while I set the table."

Henry nodded and went upstairs, hovering over the toilet while he took care of himself, the thought of his mother's body beneath his still on his mind. When he went back downstairs, they ate dinner together and Regina asked if he wanted to go get ice cream, thinking they could take a walk through the (hopefully) mostly empty park and she could talk to him in public about things, and they would be in an open enough area that he would know better than to kiss her again.

As they were walking around the large pond, the same spot she had taken him for a walk when he didn't have his memories and he had told her about Walsh, Regina sighed, wondering how to start the conversation. She pointed to a bench and they walked to it, sitting down and staying quiet for a moment.

"Henry," she started when the silence became too much. Turning to look at him, she smiled softly. "Now what we did before dinner… that's it. No more kisses, no more touching inappropriately and absolutely no laying on top of me.

"Mama… I just love you so much," Henry started.

"Stop it, Henry. No more. I love you too, sweetheart, and that's exactly why this needs to stop. It's not healthy and it isn't good."

"Am I that bad at kissing?" he asked, his eyebrows stitching together.

"Darling, it has nothing to do with your ability to kiss. You need to find a girl your own age to kiss… or a boy, it doesn't matter."

"Mom, I'm not gay!"

"I didn't say you were, I was just saying that you can like whomever you choose, but it can't be me."

Standing up, Henry threw his ice cream in the nearest garbage can and ran away from her, ran into the cover of the trees. Regina followed him, trying to keep up, but it was dark and she couldn't see him. It wasn't until nearly half an hour of running through the woods that she found him sitting on a fallen tree trunk, head in his hands.

Regina moved to sit next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. When she lifted his chin with her fingertips, she saw tear tracks down his cheeks and his eyes were rimmed with red.

"Henry, sweetheart," she whispered, wiping his tears away. "I'm sorry this is hurting you."

"I'm just so confused mom! It isn't fair!"

"I know, darling. I know," she answered, holding him in her arms and poofing them back to her house. "Come on, let's get you up to bed, dear."

A few minutes later, Regina was sitting in her bed in her long, dark gray pajamas, curled under the duvet reading a book by the light of the lamp. There was a knock on her bedroom door and she called for Henry to come in. She looked over his long-sleeved black shirt and his red plaid pajama bottoms and smiled. He looked so much like the little boy she'd been tucking in just two years ago, only taller and broader, his voice deeper, too.

"What do you need, Henry?" she asked softly. Putting a bookmark between her pages, Regina set the book onto her nightstand.

"I was… I know we've… uh… I know that you meant what you said in the talk earlier, but I'm still sad and I was wondering if I could sleep in here." He paused when he saw her features crease. Figuring a good way to get her to agree would be to make her believe he meant it innocently, he spoke again. "Like when I was little and scared or sad."

Sighing, Regina nodded. "Come here, sweetheart." After she clicked off the lamp and Henry was sitting underneath the covers beside her, Regina shifted her body down and lay on her back. It shouldn't have surprised her when Henry moved closer and rested his head on her shoulder and his arm around her waist. Turning her head, Regina pressed a soft kiss to his hair. "Goodnight, Henry."

"Night, mama," he answered back, and he fell asleep first, Regina following closely behind him.


End file.
